1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to fluid quick connector assemblies which couple male and female connector components and, more specifically, to fluid quick connectors having an internal retainer which locks the male connector component in the female connector component.
2. Description of the Art
Snap-fit or quick connectors are employed in a wide range of applications, particularly, for joining fluid carrying conduits in automotive and industrial application. In a typical quick connector with an axially displaceable retainer, the retainer is fixedly mounted within a bore in a housing of a female connector component or element. The retainer has a plurality of radially and angularly extending legs which extend inwardly toward the axial center line of the bore in the housing. A tube or male fitting to be sealingly mounted in the bore in the female component includes a radially upset portion or flange which abuts an inner peripheral surface of the retainer legs. Seal and spacer members as well as a bearing or top head are typically mounted in the bore ahead of the retainer to form a seal between the housing and the male fitting when the male fitting is lockingly engaged with the retainer legs.
Radially displaceable retainers are also known in which the retainer is radially displaceable through aligned bores or apertures formed transversely to the main through bore in the female component or housing. The radially displaceable retainer is typically provided with a pair of depending legs which are sized and positioned to slip behind the radially upset portion or flange on the male conduit only when the male connector or conduit is fully seated in the bore in the female connector. This ensures a positive locking engagement of the conduit with the female connector as well as providing an indication that the conduit is fully seated since the radially displaceable retainer can be fully inserted into the female connector only when the has been fully inserted into the bore in the female connector.
Regardless of the type of retainer, the female housing or component portion of a fluid connector typically includes an elongated stem having one or more annular barbs spaced from a first end. The barbs provide secure engagement with a hose or conduit which is forced over the barbs to connect the female housing with one end of the conduit.
Due to the secure engagement between the conduit and the female component, the open end of the axial through bore in the female connector portion of a fluid connector designed with an axially displaceable retainer or the transverse bores in a female connector designed to receive a radially displaceable retainer are fixed in one position depending upon the position of the tubing and the female connector when the tubing and female connector are joined together. In certain applications, this could limit or make it difficult to insert the retainer into the female component, particularly in the case of a radial retainer. Interference with surrounding components frequently makes access to the quick connector for both locking or unlocking operations difficult, if not impossible.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a fluid quick connector which overcomes the problems of previously devised quick connectors with respect to ease of insertion of the retainer into the quick connector while still providing all of the required attributes of a fluid quick connecter in terms of sealing and locking engagement between the male and female components of the quick connector. It would also be desirable to provide such a fluid quick connector which achieves the aforementioned advantages without requiring significant modification to existing, proven quick connector designs. It would also be desirable to provide a fluid quick connector which is easily rotatable over 360xc2x0 to facilitate insertion or removal of the retainer into or out of the quick connector.
The present invention is a quick connect for joining first and second conduits in fluid flow communication which enables the retainer receiving portion of the quick connector to be swiveled over a complete 360xc2x0 recent range to facilitate easy access to the retainer or the retainer receiving portion of the quick connector for insertion or removal of the retainer from the quick connector housing.
In one aspect of the invention, the present quick connector includes a first housing having a through bore with a first bore portion adapted for receiving a first end of a first conduit. A seal element is mounted in the first bore portion sealing engagable between the first housing in the first end of the first conduit. A second housing is rotatably and non-axially displaceably connected to the first housing. The second housing has a through bore axially alignable with the first bore portion of the first housing for receiving the first conduit therethrough. A retainer is mountable in the second housing for lockingly coupling the first conduit to the first and second housings.
According to another aspect of the present invention, mounting means are cooperatively mounted on the first and second housings for rotatably interconnecting the first and second housing. The mounting means preferably comprises a raised annular flange formed on one of the first and second housing and a plurality of latch fingers projecting from one end of the other of the first and second housings and mockingly engagable with the annular flange to resist axial displacement of the first and second housings relative to each other while permitting rotational displacement of the first and second housings relative to each other.
In a specific aspect of the invention, the latch fingers carry a notch engagable with the annular flange on the other of the first and second housings. Preferably, at least two or three latch fingers are provided on one of the first and second housings.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a tubular sleeve extends coaxially from one end of the second housing concentric with the bore in the second housings. The tubular sleeve is insertable into the first bore portion of the first housing and retains the seal element within the first housing. In this aspect, the annular flange on one of the housings is insertable between the tubular sleeve and the latch fingers on the other housing.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a connector apparatus comprises a connector body adapted to mate with a male member along a first axis. A retainer is mountable in the connector body for interlocking the male member in the connector body. The connector body includes first and second housings rotatably and non-axially displacably joined together. One of the first and second housings is adapted for receiving the retainer.
The quick container with swivelable retainer housing of the present invention overcomes a disadvantage frequently encountered with the use of previously designed quick connectors which permit the retainer to be latched or unlatched from the quick connector housing in only one position, which position may be adjacent to another component limiting retainer access to the housing. The quick connector of the present invention uniquely provides a rotatable quick connector housing which enables the retainer receiving housing of the quick connector to be rotated over a full 360xc2x0 range to facilitate easy access of the retainer to the rotatable housing. However, at the same time, the quick connector housing with rotatable housing features maintains all of the functions and advantages of a standard quick connector housing in terms of easy insertion of a conduit therein and high pullout forces locking the conduit in the quick connector.